Went to the indoor range near me for some pistol time. Normally I shoot at my place but weather was sucky and decided I needed to mingle with other shooters. Shoulda known better! 
Got to the range with my TZ99, P89 & a Taurus PT945, and began shooting - mainly just doing double-taps, goofing off that sort of thing. After a while, two guys fill the lanes next to me. A group of 2 guys on my left shooting a couple new guns, lots of inexperience and unsafe handling but the RO was on top of them. Nothing new there.
The guy on my right breaks out a James-Bond case filled with hi-end Para's, custom shop stuff and very nice. I complimented him on the guns, we shared some chit-chat about them, but I could tell he was waaaay proud of them, wouldn't quit talking. I'm on the range clock, so I kinda excuse myself after 5 minutes of non-stop self-love from the guy. We both get to shooting. All is well for about 1 minute.
After a couple of shots, he leans over, tapping me on the shoulder (a no-no), and asks if I can hold off so he can keep his brass from mixing with mine (we're both shooting .45's and mine are ejecting all over the floor by him). I said politely "I only have about 10 minutes left to shoot this gun", figuring this would tell him that I have no intention of quitting so he can get keep his brass neatly organzed on my dime. No such luck. He goes on and on about how he's really needing to watch his brass and pick up every last one, cause he's a competitor and blah-blah. Ugh. Now, I'm really hating the guy but I'm still a nice boy scout so I say "I'll shoot a mag or two of 9mm so do your thing". Fine, we get down to shooting some more, tho I'm kind of fuming at his boldness.
So, after a few minutes, he's done with that gun or whatever and says I'm good to go. So, I put a target out at 25 yards and go at it with the .45. Now, this is your basic PT945, no mods, just a stock gun. Even so, I kept 24 shots in a 8" circle at 25 yards in a group about the size of my hand outstretched. Pretty good in my book....my hand's not that big.
As I get the target back off the trolley, he's standing behind me and goes "Whoa, that thing's not shooting so good, is it?". I whipped around with a stunned look on my face and said "Excuse me?". He goes "Well, my P14 shoots groups half that size, look at these", and he shows me a target that's marginally better than mine. Fist sized groups instead of hand-sized ones. Also, his has very nice target sights and I'm sure a delightful trigger. I'm looking at it thinking it should shoot smaller than what he's showing me.
I said "My gun is a $400 combat pistol, it's shooting nearly as good as yours, what's your point?". He gives me this really quizzical look like he doesn't understand what I'm saying. He goes "Well, my Kimber so and so shot like that and I sold it".
I'm trying not to be confrontational with the guy, but he won't leave me alone and I just want to shoot. I should have just turned around and ignored him but of course my mouth started moving. "This isn't a contest guy, I just put 24 rounds into someone's head at 25 yards, which is pretty good, and I spent a quarter of what you did on my gun". This pisses him off and he replys "Well, you got ripped off". I blurted back at him "I didn't come here for your opinion dude".
So, he just rolls his eyes, turns around and goes back to his stall. I shot one more mag and was at the end of my time and got my stuff together and left, but I fumed all the way out, mainly at myself for letting him get to me. I really hate that kind of crap. Absolutely no need to be like that, but there's always someone at the range who's in a pissing match over "my gun is bigger than yours". Ready piss someone off, over nothing.
Oh well, just felt like venting, enjoy my rant. Sadly, I bet everyone on this forum will identify with my experience.
Got to the range with my TZ99, P89 & a Taurus PT945, and began shooting - mainly just doing double-taps, goofing off that sort of thing. After a while, two guys fill the lanes next to me. A group of 2 guys on my left shooting a couple new guns, lots of inexperience and unsafe handling but the RO was on top of them. Nothing new there.
The guy on my right breaks out a James-Bond case filled with hi-end Para's, custom shop stuff and very nice. I complimented him on the guns, we shared some chit-chat about them, but I could tell he was waaaay proud of them, wouldn't quit talking. I'm on the range clock, so I kinda excuse myself after 5 minutes of non-stop self-love from the guy. We both get to shooting. All is well for about 1 minute.
After a couple of shots, he leans over, tapping me on the shoulder (a no-no), and asks if I can hold off so he can keep his brass from mixing with mine (we're both shooting .45's and mine are ejecting all over the floor by him). I said politely "I only have about 10 minutes left to shoot this gun", figuring this would tell him that I have no intention of quitting so he can get keep his brass neatly organzed on my dime. No such luck. He goes on and on about how he's really needing to watch his brass and pick up every last one, cause he's a competitor and blah-blah. Ugh. Now, I'm really hating the guy but I'm still a nice boy scout so I say "I'll shoot a mag or two of 9mm so do your thing". Fine, we get down to shooting some more, tho I'm kind of fuming at his boldness.
So, after a few minutes, he's done with that gun or whatever and says I'm good to go. So, I put a target out at 25 yards and go at it with the .45. Now, this is your basic PT945, no mods, just a stock gun. Even so, I kept 24 shots in a 8" circle at 25 yards in a group about the size of my hand outstretched. Pretty good in my book....my hand's not that big.
As I get the target back off the trolley, he's standing behind me and goes "Whoa, that thing's not shooting so good, is it?". I whipped around with a stunned look on my face and said "Excuse me?". He goes "Well, my P14 shoots groups half that size, look at these", and he shows me a target that's marginally better than mine. Fist sized groups instead of hand-sized ones. Also, his has very nice target sights and I'm sure a delightful trigger. I'm looking at it thinking it should shoot smaller than what he's showing me.
I said "My gun is a $400 combat pistol, it's shooting nearly as good as yours, what's your point?". He gives me this really quizzical look like he doesn't understand what I'm saying. He goes "Well, my Kimber so and so shot like that and I sold it".
I'm trying not to be confrontational with the guy, but he won't leave me alone and I just want to shoot. I should have just turned around and ignored him but of course my mouth started moving. "This isn't a contest guy, I just put 24 rounds into someone's head at 25 yards, which is pretty good, and I spent a quarter of what you did on my gun". This pisses him off and he replys "Well, you got ripped off". I blurted back at him "I didn't come here for your opinion dude".
So, he just rolls his eyes, turns around and goes back to his stall. I shot one more mag and was at the end of my time and got my stuff together and left, but I fumed all the way out, mainly at myself for letting him get to me. I really hate that kind of crap. Absolutely no need to be like that, but there's always someone at the range who's in a pissing match over "my gun is bigger than yours". Ready piss someone off, over nothing.
Oh well, just felt like venting, enjoy my rant. Sadly, I bet everyone on this forum will identify with my experience.
